A Cold Winter's Day
by Avalon Storme
Summary: When Cindy is taken as a hostage at a bank holdup, Jimmy is the only one who can save her. Will this draw them closer together, or will it prove to be a fatal mistake?
1. Hostage

Ok, this fanfic will probally be short. The idea came to me in a dream(that sounds strange, but it did). It will probally have a lot more drama and stuff like that than my other stories. Disclaimer- I don't own Jimmy Neutron( at least not legally).

Well, here goes...oh and if I don't get enough reviews, I'm not going to continue. Oh yeah, I've decided to make everyone older, and since i'm 14, that's how old they are.

Chapter 1-

Retroville was often characterized as a small town. The only time when exciting things happened was when Jimmy Neutron had a new invention, which was often. Although his experiments often caused minor pain to those close to him, they rarely inflicted permanent damage. Because of the times when Jimmy's inventions had gotten out of hand, and he'd saved the town, he was called a hero. Jimmy would never know the true meaning of the word hero until a cold winter day in January...

Jimmy hated running errands for his mother. He would rather be in his lab, concocting a new youth tonic, or calculating the value of pi to the millionth decimal place. Still, Jimmy managed to preform many of his mother's tasks without complaining, and this one was no different. Since he was now fourteen, Jimmy was forced to carry more responsibility around the house, and one of his chores was depositing money in the bank.

Every Saturday morning, Jimmy would grab the pouch of money off of the kitchen table and run of to the bank to deposite it as fast as he could, in order to get home in time to work in his lab.

On this particular winter morning, the tempatures dipped far below freezing, so Jimmy bundled up in his favorite coat before leaving the house.

"Heading off to the bank this early?" asked Hugh. Although Jimmy performed the same task every weekend, his father asked the same question everytime it was performed.

"Yes, Dad. I have to go to the bank early so that I can return home early enough to work in the lab." Jimmy replied with his usual answer.

"Alrighty, but hurry back." said Hugh.

Jimmy rolled his eyes. Sometimes his dad was out of it. Jimmy grabbed the money and ran out the front door.

From her room, across the street, Cindy watched as Jimmy left his house. The perfect opportunity to start an argument. Cindy knew that she shouldn't want to start an argument with Jimmy, but their fighting had only grown worse the older they had gotten. She flew down the stairs, taking two steps at a time. Flinging the door open, Cindy tried to regain herself, before catching up with Jimmy.

"Hey Neutron, running an errand for your mommy?" she asked, as she caught up with the teen genius.

"Oh, hey Cindy. You know that I do the same chores every weekend." said Jimmy. Frankly, he was tired of all the fighting.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot, you have to do everything your parents tell you to." she said.

"Cindy, why do you always try to start an argument with me?" he asked.

"I'm not starting an argument, Neutron. I was just asking a question." she said.

"Why don't we agree not to fight for just one day, alright?" replied Jimmy.

Cindy sighed and held out her hand for Jimmy to shake.

Jimmy shook her hand and they continued walking.

"I hope you know that just because we're not arguing for one day, that does not mean that we're friends." said Cindy.

"I know. So, what are you doing today?" asked Jimmy.

"Actually, I'm headed to the bank." lied Cindy. She knew that was where Jimmy was going and wanted to go along also.

"That's where I'm going, too. I have to deposite money for Mom." he said.

"Yeah, me too" lied Cindy once more.

Conversation continued in that manner for the whole walk to the bank. Finally, they reached their destination.

"After you." said Jimmy, motioning Cindy to step inside.

Jimmy could tell that he would be stainding in line for a while because of the long lines. He decided that he would rather talk to Cindy that stand in line in silence.

Jimmy and Cindy took their positions in line.

A moment later, a tall dark figure appeared behind them in line. Jimmy knew that he looked strange, but he paid no heed to the warning bell going off in his head.

One minute, Jimmy and Cindy were talking about school, and the next they were listening to the words of the ominous stranger- "This is a hold up. If everyone does what I say, no one gets hurt. If you don't...then she will."

The stranger had grabbed a hostage; a fourteen year old blonde named Cindy.

Well, there it was, the 1st chapter. Like I said, this story will be shorter than my other ones. Please review!


	2. Shots

chapter 2- well here it is, the 2nd chapter of this story. please review

At first, Jimmy thought he had misunderstood the request of the tall stranger, but a few seconds later the words were repeated- "If anyone moves, then she gets it!"

_What kind of sick joke is this?_ thought Jimmy. It wasn't a joke. Sure enough, the stranger held Cindy with one arm, and a gun in the other.

No one in the room spoke. Instead, one by one, the occupants of the bank lay face down on the floor.

For a moment, Jimmy told himself that he was brave enough to wrestle away the gun and ensure the safety of everyone, Cindy most importantly.

Eventually, Jimmy's weaker side won him over and he quickly lay himself on the hard cold floor of the bank.

"Okay, here's the deal. You, put the money in a bag and hurry it up!" said the gunman, pointing to a bank teller.

The teller swiftly stood up from the floor and started filling a bag with money.

"If anyone dares move, then she's in big trouble!" said the gunman.

No one moved or spoke.

Jimmy tried to catch Cindy's eye, but all he saw was a frightened girl.

Many thoughts filled Cindy's head as she stood as still as possible in the grasp of the gunman. She was terrified. Never before had she thought of the concept of death, but now that it was so close, she thought hard about it. There were so many things that she'd yet to do. She hadn't graduated from Jr. High yet. She hadn't written the novel that she had promised herself she would. Most importantly, she hadn't told Jimmy the truth.

Cindy knew that Jimmy was looking at her, trying to make eye contact, but she avoided his gaze, afraid that he would see that she was scared. Of course, she was alowed to be scared, but she didn't want Jimmy to know that.

The gunman's grasp of her tightened, and the pain grew more intense. She felt the cold of the gun against her head, and felt that in a matter of minutes that she would no longer be there.

Tears lept at her eyes, but she forced them back...she wasn't weak.

Jimmy had a plan. Since he had his watch on, he could contact the cops, and they would arrive in a matter of minutes. Jimmy pressed the button on his watch, alerting the police without the strangers notice.

Sirens filled the air within a matter of minutes, and that the gunman noticed.

"Who called the cops? Who did it! I told you all that if you just let me leave peacfully then no one would get hurt, but now that the cops are involved, then someone certainly will." yelled the gunman. He waved around the gun wildly.

Jimmy closed his eyes as a shot rang through the air. He could only pray that it hadn't harmed Cindy.

short i know, but i t hought it was a good place to stop. please review!


	3. Breaking Free

I know it's been a while since i've updated, but I'm really busy at the moment, but here it is.

chapter 3

Call it fate, or the work of God; the bullet missed it's mark. Instead, it bounced off the ceiling and hit the center of the room with a small clatter.

Cindy's eyes had been squeezed shut when the gun was fired, but now she slowly opened them and looked upon the face of her captor.

Cindy glared at him. She didn't even know this person, and yet he felt entitled to dangle her life by a thread. Cindy struggled to gain her freedom, but his grasp only grew tighter. She decided that she could bite him or kick him hard enough to release herself, but he would still have the gun. Any way she looked at her situation, she was trapped.

_Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!_ Jimmy told himself. He had made a big mistake by alerting the cops. He had put Cindy's life at stake more than it was in the first place.

Now the gunman was more likely to get reckless.

"Now that the cops are here, this is going to be a long night. I was going to let you all go freely, but not now..." he said.

Although he said that, he flung Cindy from him, forcing her to land on the hard bank floor.

"You are all now officially hostages!" he screamed.

Jimmy ran towards Cindy keeping close to the ground. To his luck the gunman was keeping an eye on the police instead of him.

"Cindy! Are you alright?" he asked as he reached her. Her face was still on the floor.

Slowly she lifted herself up, and he was surprised to see that she was crying.

"It's okay." he said, gently embracing her.

Still in shock, Cindy could not speak, instead she just nodded her head and buried in Jimmy's shirt.

I know that chapter was extremely short, but I'll work harder to make the next one longer. Please no reviews saying to make it longer, because I already know...please review!1


	4. Prized Possesions

Sorry that it's taken so long to write another chapter, but we think that my computer has a virus, so the internet hasn't been working right. I'll try to make this chapter longer...but no promises! Please review, because it is a lot of trouble to write a story with a virus infected computer, and not get any reviews...so try your hardest! here it is, chapter- the next. I decided to kind of give the background of the gunman in this chapter...

The gunman had taken his place at the window. He was watching for any sign of the police. He knew they were positioned outside, but he had no idea exactly where. His plans were ruined. Someone had told the police that the bank was being robbed, and with good reason, but hadn't he told them not to?

His name was Patrick Bennet. He was 34 years old. He lived in Arizona, only visiting Retroville for a short while, and he decided that robbing a bank was an exiting activity. Patrick had never been a criminal before, in fact, he was a model citizen, which was exactly why he had become a gunman. When he was a child and then a teenager, his mother had forced him to compete in activities such as tennis and band.

Patrick wasn't a normal person, though. He was a genius. When he had realized that fact at the age of 14, Patrick was isolated from his friends. They wouldn't understand.

Of course, none of the hostages had learned any of those simple facts about their captor. Many sat around the bank, no longer face down, because Patrick was preoccupied with the cops. Cindy and Jimmy had found a corner to sit in. Jimmy knew that Cindy probably wouln't want to talk about what had just happened, but he couldn't avert his gaze from the shocked expression in her eyes.

"Cindy, are you alright? Wait, that was a stupid question...! What I mean is, are you better than before?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine" lied Cindy.

"No you're not...you don't have to lie, Cindy. That was horrible what just happened."replied Jimmy.

"You don't have to tell me that! I just had a gun to my head!" said Cindy, fresh tears forming in her eyes.

"I know..." said Jimmy. He wasn't about to tell her what he felt while she was being held hostage.

"I mean, we've been through a lot of horrible stuff, but that was...terrible. I had so many bad thoughts running through my head. I thought about the things that I had never done, and probably wouldn't ever get to do." said Cindy.

"Like what?" asked Jimmy. He was glad that cindy was finally talking.

"I don't know, dumb stuff really. Like, I would never graduate Jr. High. And, I would never drive a car...or become a millionaire...or..." Cindy stopped herself before revealing what had been most dominant on her mind.

"Or what?"

" I don't know..."

Jimmy looked at Cindy questioningly, but didn't ask another question, instead he told her that everything would be okay.

Patrick had spotted the police. They were positioned across the street, trying to look inconspicuous as possible, but they weren't fooling him. He was a genius after all.

"Okay, listen up. Everyone, put you're jewelry, watches, and the like in this bag...if you don't put everything in there, I'll find out." he said.

Jimmy and Cindy stood up and walked slowly towards the large brown sack that Patrick had thrown on the floor.

Jimmy unstrapped his watch from his wrist. He hated giving it up, but if in ensured the safety of everyone, he would do it.

Cindy made no move to throw anything in the bag. She had only one prized possesion on her, and she wasn't about to let it go. She had carried it everywhere with her for the past three years.

Other people around the room tore of jewelry studded with diamonds, strings of pearls, and anything else they could find.

"You there, blondie!" said Patrick. He knew that Cindy hadn't thrown anything in.

"I know you're hiding something, and I said everything goes!"

"I don't have anything..." stuttered Cindy.

"You're lying! What's that?" asked Patrick, as he pointed to a neclace around Cindy's neck. It wasn't made of diamonds or gold, and the chain was just a cheap one that she had gotten for a buck at the mall.

"It's not even real! I've had it for a long time, it has sentimental value. Please let me keep it!" begged Cindy.

"No! Throw it in with everything else."

Cindy slowly undid the clasp at the base of her neck. She tightly held the neclace in her hand, and attempted to slide off the the thing that she held dearly from the necklace, but Patrick saw, and gave her an evil stare, forcing her to leave in attached. _There it goes..._Cindy thought. The pearl that Jimmy had given her three years ago when they were stranded...

well there it was...in case you don't know what pearl I'm talking about, Jimmy gave Cindy a pearl on the episode "Stranded". a very sweet gesture, and I thought it would be good to see what happened to it. anyway, please reveiw!


	5. Two is better than one

I know that it's been soooooooooooo long since i've written, but as i've said before, my computer had a virus. We think we got the problem fixed, but our internet is still kind of messing up, so please bear with me. here goes chapter 5.

Patrick stood his ground by the window. He was searching for any sign of the police, but so far the only clue that they were there were the sirens heard when they approached. He thought hard about what his next move should be. He needed a way to get out of the bank without beinh shot or taken to prison...then he had an idea! A hostage was the perfect way to escape. The cops wouldn't dare hurt an innocent life if it could be helped.

Patrick surveyed his surroundings for the perfect hostage. The old lady in the corner? No, she would probably be to slow to keep up. The child with his mother? No, he would cry to much. Then, Patrick's gaze landed on his first victim. He knew he could handel Cindy...

"You there, blondie!" he said motioning to Cindy.

Cindy was tired of being called blondie... she did have a name after all.

"My name is Cindy!" she yelled to the other side of the room.

Jimmy rolled his eyes. Like an armed robber would care what her name was.

"I've decided to leave peacably. Well, not entirely, but with a hostage. And i've decided to go with my first choice, Cindy, come on down!" said Patrick.

"You know what, I really don't think that would be much fun." she said. Cindy was tired of being thrown around like a ragdoll whenver she was needed.

"Then I guess I'll just have to come get my myself.." he said, striding swiftly to the other side of the room.

Jimmy knew that he couldn't just stand there and do nothing, but he also knew that without his watch that he was almost helpless...almost.

Jimmy blocked the way of Patrick, and stood his ground.

"You know, it would make more sense to have another hostage. That way, if anything happened to one of them, then you'd have another one handy." said Jimmy.

Patrick raised his eyebrows at the sudden outbirst, and yet he couldn't deny the logic.

"Alright, you come with me too! " he said to Jimmy.

As Patrick led his hostages out, Cindy gave a quizzical look to Jimmy. Had he just volunteered himself as a hostage?

I know it's short, but i can't help it. Please review!


	6. Heading Out

Here it is, the next chapter- six I believe, here goes.

Patrick pressed his gun hard into Cindy's back, forcing both teens to move forward; he

recieved a glares in the process.

The police stood very still as he led his hostages out. They had never dealt with a bank robbery

before. Usually, all they handled was the occasional speeding ticket.

"You move, and she's dead!" screamed Patrick. The cops were still motionless, with the exeption of

the police cheif who just nodded his head in reply.

Cindy knew that the cops weren't going to do anything. She also knew that Jimmy must have a plan

because he had volunteered himself into the situation. Although they were in grave danger, Cindy

couldn't help but think about what she had thrown into the back full of treasures. It was her prized

possesion. She loved that pearl, from the day she had recieved it. And worst of all, Jimmy now knew

that she had kept it the whole time.

The police allowed Patrick to walk towards a large blue van, apparently his, because moments later,

Jimmy and Cindy were bound and gagged in the back of it, speeding toward's God knows where. It

wasn't only God who knew where they were going. Patrick had finished the details of his plan, and

they were headed to one of his friend's houses. Patrick hoped that his friend would be willing to help.

I know its short, but big things are going to happen in the next chapter. review


	7. Gunshots

The smell of rain hung in the air. It was already late in the afternoon; Jimmy and Cindy had been hostages for only a short while, but they were both growing tired of the whole ordeal.

They now sat in a small basement. Patrick had blindfolded them on the way there, so they had no idea where they were at. They sat in chairs opposite each other, both bound and gagged.

Patrick had left them a few hours earlier, and they were sitting in silence. Their gags weren't the only things keeping them from speaking. Cindy's earlier act of not wanting to give away her pearl had brought up some new issues that neither were ready to discuss. Cindy knew that they would eventually have to talk about it, but now the gags were a good excuse.

The whirring of the overhead fan hovering above them was the only sound to be heard. Eventually, it began to grow louded and louder, at least to their ears.

Jimmy began working to undo his gag from his mouth. In a matter of minutes he was free to talk, but decided to wait until Cindy was free to talk. That would give her the opportunity to start the conversation if she liked. If she didn't want to talk about it, then he wouldn't either.

Cindy did talk first.

"So, Neutron, what do you plan on doing now?" she asked, breathless from struggling with her gag.

"I'm not sure exactly. I have some sort of a plan in mind, but I haven't exactly worked out the details." said Jimmy, in reply.

For a few moments, they sat in silence once more, but then Cindy spoke.

"Look, Jimmy..."she started. Jimmy looked up and attemted to turn towards her , but he was still bound to the chair. Instead he settled on listening intenly. "I just wanted to say thanks." she finished.

"For what?" asked Jimmy, utterly confused.

"For you know, staying with me. The truth is, I'd be scared right now if it weren't for you being here." she said.

Jimmy was glad that Cindy couldn't see his face, for his eyes grew big, and then he spoke.

"No problem. Can I ask you a question, Cindy?" he said, hopefully.

"Um, sure..." she replied, unsure of what he was going to ask.

"When the gunman asked you to put your necklace in the bag, why were you so reluctant to give it up?" he asked, although he already had a good idea.

Cindy thought for a moment about whether or not she should tell Jimmy the truth. Finally, she decided that it was time.

As soon as she opened her mouth to speak, Patrick burst into the room, gun in hand, friend trailing behind.

"Hello, enjoying your stay?" he asked, almost cheerily.

"Not really, seeing that we're bound to a chair!" said Cindy, who was angry that she had been intterupted in the middle of a ground breaking moment.

"Listen, missy, I do have two hostages, and it wouldn't matter if I got rid of one of you...so I suggest you shut your mouth." he said.

"Why don't you teach her a lesson." said Patrick's friend, who was a mousy looking man in his early teens.

"You're right, Rhett. This blonde has been giving me cheek since I first met her." he said.

Patrick moved towars Cindy at fast speeds; she felt her heart pounding faster and faster.

Gun in hand, he grabbed Cindy from the chair, ripping the ropes off of her and holing her by her hair.

Jimmy, who was facing the scene knew that he had to do something. If he didn't then Cindy could be hurt, or worse.

With all the strength he could muster, Jimmy pulled on his bonds, breaking them free, and lept from the chair with great agility.

Cindy felt the cold tip of the gun against her temple. She though she was going to die.

Jimmy, whom wasn't much smaller than Patrick attempted to grab the gun for his hand.

Cindy ran from the two young men, and steadied herself in the corner.

Both Patrick and Jimmy wanted the gun in their control. Only one wanted it more. With a great heave, Jimmy pulled on the gun ,but in the wrong spot. A shot sounded from the scene and Jimmy fell to the ground with a weak moan.

Drama, I know, but this is a dramatic story, more to come soon. Please review.


	8. More Than A Crush

Okay, thanks for the small amount of reviews that i did recieve...here goes...the next chapter. There probably won't be that many more chapters in this story. Oh yeah, and Rhett isn't in his early teens as I said in my last chapter, I meant to put early twenties...just a typo. I also chose the name Rhett because I'm a huge Gone With the Wind fan.

Cindy watched Jimmy fall onto the hard floor of the basement as if she were watching it in slow motion. Something strong stirred inside of her as she attempted to run towards Jimmy's limp body on the floor. She felt herself being pulled backwards, and turned around, finding that Rhett had grabbed ahold of her. He was apparently trying to stop her from reaching her destination because he was now in charge, and he could do what he wanted. Patrick was also on the floor, motionless.

"Let me go!" she screamed, as she struggled in his grasp, desperate to see if Jimmy was okay. She could already tell that he wasn't. A circle of fresh blood was forming around him, and he still made no movement.

"Let me go!" she repeated. "I have to go to him" she begged.

"No. It's not that simple. You see, if he lives, then there are witnesses. That goes for you also." he said.

Cindy was glad that Rhett didn't have a gun, because if he did, she knew that he would waste no time disposing of her. She could also tell that Rhett was afraid to approach the two lifeless people on the floor.

"Just let me see if he is okay." she begged. "please. I won't try anything, I just want to know if he's...if he's alive."she finished. Tears welled in her eyes. Rhett knew that this girl would be true to her word. He had no idea how he knew, but for some reason, he knew that she wouldn't leave the boy by himself, and there was no way for her to escape with Jimmy with her.

"Alright." complied Rhett, as he released Cindy from his grip.

Immediately, she ran to Jimmy flinging herself onto the floor to inspect the damage.

With a great heave, she turned Jimmy on his back so she could see where he had been shot.

"Jimmy!" she whispered urgently, trying to get him awake. Still silent.

"Jimmy! Wake up." she said more loudly, and she lay her head against his chest, trying to detect a heart beat. There was still one. He was also still breathing.

With a sigh of relief, Cindy sat on the ground next to him. She thought about her next move. There was a large, bullet-sized hole in his stomach, at least it had missed his heart. She didn't know much about wounds and had never seen a gun victim before. She fought the urge to cry as she sligtly lifted the shirt to see the extense of the damage. It was horrible.

Cindy thought she had heard somewhere that it was best to apply pressure to a wound, so she pressed hard against it, and eventually it stopped bleeding.

"Okay, okay..." she whispered to herself, wondering what she was going to do next.

She knew that Rhett wouldn't let her call an ambulance, but it was the only way that Jimmy was going to make it. It was worth a try.

"He needs an ambulance!" she said aloud this time.

"I don't think so." he replied. He wasn't an idiot.

Cindy was mad now. Here, someone might be dying and this man was standing there like it were another ordinary day.

"Listen, he's going to die...I need to call an ambulance." she said chokingly this time.

"I can't let you do that." he repeated, looking at the ground.

Cindy lept to her feet and charged towards Rhett. She didn't have a chance.

As Cindy reached him, Rhett swung his arm back and hit her with all his might. His hand hit her directly across the mouth, and she was flung towars the floor, blood dripping from her busted lip.

Now, the tears did flow. Not because of the pain shooting through her body from being slapped, but because she felt their was no hope. There was no chance that Jimmy would live. Eventually, he would begin bleeding again, and there was nothing she could do. _Well, there is one more thing I can do..._she though.

With great effort, Cindy slowly crawled towards Jimmy. She knew that she must have a broken ankle from the great force of being thrown to the ground. Pain shot through her leg as she inched her way towards him. Finally, she reached her destination.

"Jimmy..." she cried desperatly. This time, he had to hear what she had to say.

For a split second, she thought that she saw the flicker of his eyelashes, but she couldn't be sure. She would tell him anyway...

"Well, it looks like this is it." she started. "We've been through a lot of stuff together, but this seems like the worst. Jimmy, I'm going to be honest with you. I'm not sure if we're going to make it out of here. The odds are against us, but maybe there's still some hope. Jimmy," she said, now taking his limp hand in hers.

"Jimmy, we've been through so much together. Everything I could possibly think of. When we were kids, everything was so different. Now that we're going into high school, it's going to get more complicated. So many times we've come close to something, but then something gets in our way. Something always manages to stop us from getting close, and I'm getting tired of it. Since we were stranded on that island together, I have asked myself over and over what I felt for you. Then, it was just a crush. It's changed though. It's something bigger."she said.

Cindy could tell that she wouldn't be concious for much longer. The pain was growing more intense by the second. She could only take so much, but she had to tell him.

"The truth is... while we've fought all of these years, and competed, and whatever else we've done to prevent anything from happening...the truth is...I love you." she said.

The pain was now too much to bear. Her head was pounding from being slapped, mixed with the pain from her broken ankle.

With one last sigh, Cindy slumped onto the floor next to Jimmy, his hand still clasped in hers.


	9. Aftershocks

Thanks everyone for the little reviews that I did get. I would really appreciate more, though. And I know I probably sound like a broken record, but I'd like you two tell me what you think. I love long reviews, even if they are bad. Thanks! Also, if I don't write for a few days or whatever on either of my stories, it's because my Algebra 1 state test is friday, and if I don't pass it, then I have to take Algebra over next year when i'm in 9th grade, and I really don't want to do that...so anyway, I have to study...here it is!

Cindy awoke to the sound of sirens. Help had come. She turned to her left and noticed that Jimmy was no longer beside her. Panic came over her in a wave. She had no idea where he was. That was when she noticed the paramedic standing over her, looking at her quizzically.

"Are you okay? Can you stand up for me? " asked the young paramedic. Cindy shook her head in reply. Her ankle still throbbed painfully, and she knew there was no way she would be able to stand.

"It's okay, miss. Just stay where you are and we'll get a stretcher." he said, as he ran to find one.

She wasn't worried about herself. She knew that eventually her leg would heal, and the large hand print across her face would fade. She was worried about Jimmy. Memory of her words crept back to her. She had told him. Cindy put her head in her hands and hoped that he hadn't been concious when she'd said it. Although Cindy meant every word she had said, she wasn't sure if he felt the same way. If he had heard her and didn't return her feelings, then she would be heartbroken.

The sound of the paramedics with a stretcher woke Cindy from her daydream.

"What happened to Jimmy?" she asked, weakly.

"Jimmy? He's the boy that was beside you, huh?" asked a young woman paramedic.

Cindy nodded, and prepared herself for the worst.

"I'm sorry, but I can't give you any details right now...he went to the hospital just a while ago, but that's all I know." said the woman apologetically.

As they lifted Cindy upon the stretcher, a news crew arrived. Cindy saw the flashed of cameras, as mikes were thrown at her from all directions.

She picked up various questions from the reporters.

_Tell us what happened!_

_In your words, how would you describe this ordeal?_

_Were you friends with the victim?_

_Did you personally know the guy who was killed?_

Cindy's eyes grew wide. Someone was dead.

_It can't be Jimmy! It can't! If he's gone, I couldn't live with myself! _Cindy attempted to choke back tears as she was led towards the ambulance and sped towards the hospital.

Cindy was in a hospital bed. Her ankle had been bandaged, and ointment had been applied to her face. She knew she was alright.

Everytime a nurse would enter, she would question about Jimmy, but so far she had learned nothing new.

Finally, a doctor entered the room.

"Please tell me what happened!" she begged.

"Your friend recieved extensive damage to his abdomen. The bullet entered below his heart, and we had to remove it. " said the doctor, studying his charts.

"You mean he's okay!" asked Cindy.

"He should be fine. It sure was a close call though. If the bullet had entered anywhere south of where it had, he might not have made it." said the doctor.

A smile grew on Cindy's face. Jimmy was alive. He was okay. The smile slowly faded, though when she thought of the reporters question.

"Someone said that a guy died? Was the gunman killed?" she asked.

"We found identification in his coat. His name was Patrick. He was found dead on the scene."

Cindy knew that she should feel glad that someone who had put her through so much was getting what he deserved, but for some reason, she felt as if he should have lived.

The doctor walked out, as three people walked in. Cindy's parents had already visited and listened wide eyed as Cindy told the story, leaving out a few details, so she knew it wasn't them.

Sheen, Libby, and Carl entered the room.

"Cindy. I can't believe it! I was so worried about you, girl! When I heard the news on tv, I rushed over as soon as I could." shouted Libby as she made her way towards the bed.

"Yeah, Cindy, you really scared us." said Carl.

Sheen nodded his head in consent. Cindy told them that she didn't fell like talking about her ordeal, so Sheen and Carl left the two girls alone.

"Was it scary?" asked Libby.

"Yeah, it really was." said Cindy, telling the complete truth.

"I bet you were glad that Jimmy was there."

Cindy looked down at the floor.

"Cindy, you can't just pretend that he didn't do anything to help." said Libby. She already knew the story of what had happened from various news sources. Apparently, Rhett no longer cared about going to jail. He was to preoccupied with his new fame.

"If he hadn't been there..." said Cindy.

"I know. You need to talk to him." said Libby, looking at her best friend.

"You're right, Libs. The only problem is I'm not sure what to say."

there it was. Like I said, I'm not sure when the next chapter will be put up. Please review thoug, becasue I'm trying really hard to pleas you all!


	10. I Love You, Too

Thanks for the reviews. here we go...

It wasn't until later that evening until Cindy got to see Jimmy, so she had plenty of time to figure out what she was going to say to him. The conversation basically depended on one thing- if Jimmy had heard her confession or not.

If he had, then she wasn't sure what she would do. She could either deny his accusation and claim that he was delusional, or she could admit to the deed.

On the other hand, he might not have even heard her, and then she was off the hook. Cindy couldn't help but think, though, that it was high time that she tell him the truth anyway.

"I guess I'm going to find out..." she said.

Since Cindy still couldn't walk, she had to use a wheelchair to transport herself to Jimmy's room. She despised the stares she was recieving from people who had obviously been watching the news as she made her way down the hall.

Finally, she reached his room, and wasn't surprized to find out that he had visitors. Jimmy's parents stood over him and gave him worried looks at his account of the story, even though he reassured them that he had had everything under control.

"Oh, Jimmy, we were just so worried about you. When we heard what happened, we just couldn't help but think the worst." said his mother, as she pressed her hand against his forehead.

"Jimbo, that was a very brave thing you did for Cindy, son." said his father.

"Dad, really, it was nothing." he said.

Cindy cleared her throat to announce her presence. She didn't want to interrupt the reunion, but she really needed to talk to Jimmy.

"Oh, Cindy! Honey, I can't believe what you've been through today!" said Jimmy's mom, as she rushed across the room to embrace Cindy.

"We'll leave you two alone." said Hugh, giving Cindy an approving pat on the back as they exited.

"Hey, how you feeling?" she asked, sitting on the edge of his bed, carefull not to touch any of the wires.

"Just great!" he said sarcastically, motioning to his chest.

Cindy gave him a sad smile, as she searched for words.

"I can't believe what we went through today." she said, at last.

"Yeah, it was pretty bad." he agreed.

"Jimmy. I..." started Cindy, but she still wasn't sure what to say.

"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be alive." she finally said.

"It was nothing, anyone else would have done the same thing." he said.

"You know that's not true. You were really brave today, and I just wanted to say thanks for everything." she said.

For a while they sat in silence, reflecting on the memory of the events that had unfolded that day.

Then, in a quiet voice Jimmy asked, "Cindy, it may have been the fact that I was half unconcious, half awake, but today...did you...did you say that you..." he stared but was intterupted.

"You know what, I think I should go. You really have to get some sleep, sorry to bother you." she said, and started to leave.

"Cindy, wait!" he said.

Cindy turned towards him, walking slowly back to her seat on the bed.

"I just wanted to tell you that I..." but again Jimmy was interrupted, this time by a police officer.

"May I come in?" he asked, and both Cindy and Jimmy nodded.

"I just wanted to know that we retrieved all of the items that were stolen. " he said, pulling out a bag from his pocket.

"Some of the witnesses told us that they saw you two put these items in the sack, and I felt that you should have them back." he said, and layed the plastic bag on the bed.

The officer bid them farewell, and Jimmy lifted the bag from its place.

"My watch..." he said, as he lifted it from the bag and strapped it on his wrist.

"And, my necklace..." she said, pulling it from the bag.

Tears welled in her eyes. Before, she had been so upset about losing her pearl. It had meant so much to her. But now, as she stared at the small white treasure on the end of a cheap chain, it wasn't as valuable. She had seen someone she had cared about almost die. She had felt her life hanging by a thread, and now the necklace no longer mattered. All that mattered was the person who'd given her the treasure.

"Here, let me put it on you..." offered Jimmy

"Jimmy, you're in no condition to sit up!" she said.

Jimmy lifted himself slowly in sitting position and took the necklace from her hands.

Cindy lifted her hair and allowed him to clasp it around her neck, where it belonged.

Jimmy lay back on the bed, the energy had been drained from him.

Tears now fell from Cindy's eyes. Before she knew what was happening, she flung her arms around him in a tight embrace, carefully avoiding his bandages.

There they lay for a long while. No words were spoken between them, but that was okay. None need to be spoken, exept...

Jimmy looked down at Cindy and noticed that she had finally slipped into a deep sleep, her face still damp with tears.

"I love you, too." he said, as he listened to her steady breathing. Now, everything had been said.

As the last traces of daylight slowly faded, Jimmy also fell into welcome slumber. They were going to be alright.

There it was. Possibly the last chapter. I'll probably make an epilouge though, to kind of tie up some of the loose ends. How was it? Please review...i'm begging you.!


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